Southdale Center is the 1956 Minnesota shopping center recognized as the world's first fully enclosed, climate-controlled mall.
Located in Edina, a suburb of Minneapolis, Southdale was developed by the Dayton Company and designed by Austrian-born architect Victor Gruen. Its enclosed layout provided a controlled indoor environment, allowing shoppers to visit stores comfortably during Minnesota's very cold winters and hot summers.
Southdale's design grouped shops around a large central court and included climate control, parking, and common areas. The concept became a major model for suburban shopping centers across the United States.
Southdale is sometimes confused with the Mall of America, also in Minnesota. The Mall of America is much larger and opened in 1992, while Southdale opened decades earlier and is notable for pioneering the enclosed regional-mall format.